By Grace Hut, Assistant Director of Policy and Advocacy

February 17, 2026

Today, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to move forward a motion to explore opting into the county’s Safe Indoor Temperature Ordinance. Passed in August 2025, the Safe Indoor Temperature Ordinance established a maximum indoor temperature threshold of 82 degrees for all rental housing units in unincorporated L.A. County. It does not require landlords to install air conditioning (they can use ceiling fans or other cooling options, as long as they meet the temperature threshold), but it does give tenants an affirmative right to install A/C themselves if they choose to. Establishing a right to cooling in the City of Los Angeles would safeguard more tenants from eviction or harassment stemming from requests to install A/C.

With today’s vote, a number of city agencies, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, the Department of City Planning, the Department of Building and Safety and the City Attorney, will have 180 days to report back on how to adopt the county’s policy at the city level. So, while the council didn’t adopt the Safe Indoor Temperature Ordinance today, they got this important process started.

SAJE staff and members from our Climate and the Built Environment committee will continue to advocate for the ordinance, which helps ensure rental housing is safe during extreme heat events. The city has similar laws on the books that require landlords to provide heat in rental housing.